YESTERDAY PEOPLE - JIMMY CARTER

April 16, 2008

According to today's New York Post, "Former President Jimmy Carter warmly embraced a Hamas leader, praised Yasser Arafat and accused Israel of holding up the peace negotiations as his controversial Mideast tour reached the West Bank yesterday. Carter hugged and kissed Nasser Shaer, a former deputy prime minister in the Hamas-led government who was the highest ranking politician arrested by Israel during confrontations in 2006 and 2007."

In 1976, the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia became the 39th President of the United States for one simple (and ill-conceived) reason. In the wake of Richard Nixon's downfall, the collective American psyche decided that we couldn't find ability and integrity in one person and, therefore, had to sacrifice one to get the other.

So what if Nixon had negotiated the cease-fire that ended JFK and LBJ's Vietnam War, established detente with the USSR, opened up diplomatic relations with China, had a thriving economy? He was held responsible for a 2nd rate burglary, tried to cover it up, and was forced to resign in the face of impending impeachment. Gerald Ford assumed the mantle, unconditionally pardoned Nixon, invoking the enmity of the press and the public. In the wake of all of this turbulence, the electorate opted out on the ability thing and settled for integrity (or so they thought).

As a result, the country enjoyed the administration of James Earl Carter, a man-made disaster which, thank God, was limited to one term. Four years that were marked by double digit interest rates, stagflation, an economy with a growth rate that had plunged to less than 1/3 of what it had been, long gas lines, our Embassy in Teheran being taken over and hundreds of Americans held as hostages by Iranian students, failed rescue attempts, the creation of two new cabinet-level Departments - Energy and Education - one more worthless than the other.

But, as liberals will tell you, the outcome doesn't matter, it's what's in one's heart that counts. He meant well, so it's okay. So what if his policies created problems? If the economy went south, if the public school system kept deteriorating in spite of all the money he dumped into it to appease the teachers' unions, as long as his heart was in the right place. It's not his fault if the drop-out rate rises and the literacy rate goes in the other direction. If many of the larger cities governed by liberal politicians kept deteriorating, well, he meant well.

However, in 1980, even the Democrats were fed up and tried to get him not to run for re-election. Teddy Kennedy challenged him for the nomination but Carter prevailed and then, thank the Lord, lost to Reagan. Obviously, the electorate had reversed themselves and concluded that, after all, it was possible to get ability and integrity in one package, a very attractive package called Ronald Reagan.

So, here we are years later. Having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 (the whole world is thankful for the era of peace he established in the Middle East, especially Palestine), the peanut man is off on another of his unsanctioned swings through that area. Despite the urgings of the President of The United States and both political parties, ex-President Jimmie Carter is embracing the terrorists of Hamas and blaming Israel for not doing enough to appease their tormentors, to mollify those who would wipe them off the planet.

He had already proven his lack of ability. Now he's won the daily double.

So, Hillary hide! Obama duck! Somewhere out there is a TCE (a Toxic Carter Endorsement) which will destroy one of you.